A Blog Devoted to Encouraging Homeschooling Mothers

The Burts in 2013

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

So, Did You Have a Good Year?

May is a month filled with graduations, weddings, celebrations of all shapes & sizes that laud our accomplishments and lay wide the path to a prosperous future. All that sounds nice enough, but it is a bit humanistic at it's core. And as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, I hope to encourage you in a non-humanistic way through this blog post :)

As homeschooling mothers, we don't usually receive the same kind of accolades that public and private school educators get. There aren't any end-of-the-school-year teacher appreciation gifts brought to us, no notes from thankful parents gushing about the impact we've had on their child's life, no fresh-baked cookies waiting for us in the teacher's lounge. (Now, let me say that I know a few teachers & believe me, it's more "normal" to hear from an angry parent than a thankful one - there are plenty of downsides to their profession that we never have to deal with.) Those of us who opt to educate our children at home know that it's a really good day if our hubby tells us "good job" at the end of a long, hard school day! We do what we do without much thanks or fanfare, for the most part. And honestly, we're just fine with that.

But since May is a time of so much celebrating and congratulating, I'd like to tell all the moms who read this post "Good job this year! You've worked hard, done so much more than you probably even remember, and followed the call the Lord has placed upon your life. Way to go!"

Take a deep breath, think back to last August, and recognize what the Lord has done through you to impact your children's hearts and minds. Be encouraged today, and grab hold of the Lord's joy, because the joy of the Lord is your strength. Keep your chin up, but not in a humanistic way; rather, keep your chin up in order to stay focused on God Almighty, who takes hold of your hand and helps you on this journey called homeschool.